KUALA LUMPUR (20 Aug 2017) – Indonesia sprang a surprise in men’s Futsal this afternoon at the Panasonic Sports Complex when they beat powerhouse Thailand 4-2 in their first game of the competition.
“We wanted to win so badly,” said Indonesian assistant coach Yori Torren afterwards. “It was a very difficult game and we had to be disciplined with the tactical. The win was fabulous.”
With the Thais – the three-time winners of the event – having beaten Vietnam a few days earlier, expectations were high that they would romp to their second win in as many matches.
But that was not to be as Indonesia, who had earlier in the year signed former Thai coach Vic Hermans to their payroll, were in excellent form as they played with scant respect for a team which has been a consistent feature at the FIFA Futsal World Cup since the last several editions.
Even with the likes of Suphawut Thueanklang, Jetsada Chudech and also Muhammad Osamanmusa in their midst, the Thais found it hard going as Indonesia’s Muhammad Subhan Faidasa nailed the opener after just three minutes.
The game picked up pace soon after as the Thais were playing catch up only for them to fall behind in the 18th minute through Syauqi Daud.
With the score at 2-0 to Indonesia’s advantage, Jetsada Chudech pulled a goal back in the 22nd minute only for Syauqi to restore Indonesia’s advantage a minute later.
The Thais were beginning to feel the pressure as the clock continued to trickle down.
And even though they managed to close the gap through Suphawut Thueanklang (38th minute), there was no stopping Indonesia from the full points when they rounded off a fine afternoon with their fourth goal of the game off Alexander Larawo a minute later.
The loss has put Thailand’s hope of a clean sweep of both football and Futsal titles in jeopardy where a repeat of the feat in 2011 in Myanmar is now a distant blur.
“We have to admit that Indonesia were the better team today,” said Thailand head coach Jose Maria. “We were just not sharp enough and we paid for it.”
